you are not so unworthy

as you presume you are

as if beyond some pale hue

through travelling too far

down destruction’s twisting road

with no chance of return

the only fate facing you

regret’s unyielding burn

to err is all too human

and no one is unstained

saints are few and far from clean

with moral slips restrained

forgiveness said to be divine

but needs that we receive:

accepting all is not lost

the start of our reprieve

excerpt from “never lost”

How many times am I to forgive my brother? The question once put to an itinerant teacher. Six or seven maybe? Would that be enough? Surely any more than that would just be foolish!

Seven times seventy, was the teacher’s response. In other words, forgive however many times it is needed. You cannot put a number on forgiveness.

It can be hard to forgive other people.

Harder still to forgive ourselves.

We may have become quietly adept in concealing them from others, but we cannot hide from ourselves the endless repetition of mistakes and misfired chances to change.

How many times am I to forgive myself? The question we fear to ask, not realising the same answer applies.

As many times as needed.

As many times as needed.

Live gently. Quit counting. Start accepting.

We are never forever lost.